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HomePick of the DayUnique find 1968 Ford Transit van

Unique find 1968 Ford Transit van

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A long time before the Ford Transit Connect there was, well, this. And it’s very unlikely you’ll see another one anytime soon because very few of them were ever brought to the U.S.

The Pick of the Day is a 1968 Ford Transit Mk I, made by Ford in England and, in this case, used by a German fire department that put only 12,000 miles on the odometer. The fire-engine-red truck is still outfitted with a blue dome light on its roof, a working siren and dual wheels on each side of its back axle.

The low-mileage truck is said to be ready to drive

Although unabashedly utilitarian, the Transit looks oddly stylish as well. Being used exclusively in Germany, all of the controls and instructions on the dashboard and inside the cabin are written in German. And while produced in England, the truck is left-hand drive for the German fire brigade.

“It’ll make you do a double take right away, simply because you just don’t see anything on the road quite like this mix of American and European styling sensibilities,” according to the Fort Worth, Texas, dealer advertising this truck on ClassicCars.com.

The Transit has duallies in back

“With its rugged look and a noticeably wider track than any of its European counterparts of the era, the Mk I quickly gained a solid foothold as a dependable fleet member for a variety of different public agencies across the pond.

“Clad in a proper shade of red for a fire-department vehicle, a working siren and blue dome light proudly displayed on top, it’s spacious and compact at the same time, with an unusually short distance between its front end and the windshield. Its exterior still features a nice shine and no serious mishaps.”

The plain interior and simple dashboard remain in good, original condition, the dealer notes.

The simple interior looks to be well-preserved

“The gray-vinyl interior is well-suited to this Transit’s utilitarian nature,” the ad says. “It’s a comfortable, yet purpose-driven environment that, due to its unusually light usage, remains in very nice condition. Nothing inside the cabin shows much wear, and the pair of low-backed bucket seats are still well-padded and very much suited for real-world driving. “

The compact truck is powered by a 2.0-liter V4 engine tucked under its very short hood, coupled with a 4-speed manual transmission, making it capable of highway driving, the seller says, and it is currently serviced and roadworthy.

This represents a great opportunity to one-up your pals with VW microbuses or Mercedes-Benz trucks, and think about the possibilities of transforming it into a totally unique camper.

Plus, the Transit is very reasonably priced at just $16,995.

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.

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Bob Golfen
Bob Golfen
Bob Golfen is a longtime automotive writer and editor, focusing on new vehicles, collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle. He is the former automotive writer and editor for The Arizona Republic and SPEED.com, the website for the SPEED motorsports channel. He has written free-lance articles for a number of publications, including Autoweek, The New York Times and Barrett-Jackson auction catalogs. A collector car enthusiast with a wide range of knowledge about the old cars that we all love and desire, Bob enjoys tinkering with archaic machinery. His current obsession is a 1962 Porsche 356 Super coupe.

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